Pages

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

642 A.D.: Stephanus, the last Bryzantine physician

Stephanus (550-630 A.D.) is generally referred to as the last known Byzantine physician to be educated at the school of Alexandria. He was professor of philosophy and medicine when the school was captured by Arabs in 642 A.D. (1, page 213)

Perhaps because he was born in Athens some refer to him as Stephanus of Athens. Perhaps because he was educated at Alexandria, and later became a physician at the school, some refer to him as Stephanus of Alexandria. Perhaps because he flourished in Byzantine during the reign of Justinian I (527-565) some refer to him as Stephanus of Byzantine.

Despite the various names, little is known of him. Rather, perhaps that so little is known about him has resulted in the confusion about his name.

Oxfordreference.com says he was a contemporary of Justinian and that he was a Christian. He was neither a a geographer nor a historian, but a grammarian. He was not completely uncritical, although his main task was as a compiler of the ancient writers whose works had been lost. (8)

At some point during the reign of Heraclius (575-641) he migrated to Constantinople. (7, page 52)

He is known to have expounded on the works of Hippocrates, Aristotle and Galen, and is important to our history mainly because he expounded on the Hippocratic view regarding asthma. (2, page 82)

Garrison says Stephanus was a "pupil of Sylvius at Paris, and a prominent publisher of medical books during the Renaissance, was persecuted and imprisoned for heresy and died in prison. (5, page 156).

I'd delve further into the life of Stephanus, although apparently he left no furhter clues about his own life, nor was anything written on the subject by anyone who followed him, at least that we are aware.

All that we know of him is that he was the last of the Byzantine physicians and that he published books, one of which is relevant to our history: "Commentary on Hippocrates' Aphorisms."

Jackson quotes Stephanus form this book as saying the following about asthma:

We know already what asthma is: quick and frequent breathing. And how do we explain the asthma? There is an inward pressure on the vertebrae at the occiput (the back portion of the skull), it presses on the esophagus, which presses on the larynx and thus narrows the air passage, so that there is quick and frequent breathing called asthma by Hippocrates. (3, pages 26-27)(6)

Galen said the faculties of nature were those naturally occurring events in the body that result in life. For example, the soul and nature make life, the veins and liver make blood, the blood makes nutrition, nutrition is assimilated into the organ to make growth, and adequate growth assures continued life and good health as long as possible.

Galen also said disease was the result of changes in the body, perhaps caused by a weakening of the natural faculties, that caused an increase or decrease in any one of the four humors: blood, yellow bile, black bile or phlegm. An increase in phlegm in the lungs, for example, was what Galen believed caused asthma.

Staphanus expounded on this. He is quoted once again by Jackson:

Middle age is characterized by an irregular temperament, and by this irregularity of temperament the natural faculties are weakened, in consequence of which various and manifold diseases are produced in this group; in the same way autumn with its irregular temperament produces various and manifold bad humors, which naturally cause various and manifold bad humors, which naturally cause various and manifold diseases owing to the weakening of the faculties, since irregularity of any kind weakens the faculties and upsets the constitution... middle age is analogous to autumn, the prime of life to summer; and because of this analogy, just as autumn is the cause of many diseases, so there are many various diseases which middle age tends to produce. (3, page 27)(6)

These people are prone to asthma. We have heard more than once what asthma is: heavy and very fast breathing. The asthma is easily explained by the irregularity of the temperament. Phlegm is produced by weakening of the faculties and failure to digest the food; this phlegm flows to the pharynx, the larynx, and the trachea, thus the air is prevented from passing, and this causes asthma. (3, page 27)(6)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Contact Me

Search This Blog

Wit and Wisdom

History maketh a young man to be old, without either wrinkles or grey hairs; privileging him with the experience of age, without either the infirmities or inconveniences thereof. Yea, it not only maketh things past, present; but enableth one to make a rational conjecture of things to come. For this world affordeth no new accidents, but in the same sense wherein we call it a new moon, which is the old one in another shape; and yet no other than that hath been formerly. Old actions return again, furbished over with some new and different circumstances. (Thomas Fuller in the Epistle Dedicatory to his The History of the Holy War, March 6th, 1639).

About Me

John Bottrell is a respiratory therapist. He's a featured asthma and COPD writer for asthma.net and copd.net. He's the creator and occasionally writer for Respiratory Therapy Cave, the #1 respiratory therapy blog. He's an avid historian and creator of Asthma History. His blog posts have been featured in various newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune. He has previously been a featured asthma/COPD writer for Healthcentral.com and asthma writer for Answers.com.